What a season!  There have been some highs and lows, good weather and lots of not so good weather.  While there will be some good fishing to be had for a few more weeks this will be our last fish report of the season.  Coho fishing has been quite slow, which is no surprise given the circumstances of December 2020.  The best bet to try for some silvers remains between 5 mile and the mouth of Fish Creek.  Bracketing low tides will remain the “prime time” to be on the water.  Cowee Creek and Montana Creek will also see fish continuing to trickle in, but we encourage everyone to let the wild fish go to preserve these runs for years to come.

                          Proof that persistence is key!

The trout and Dolly fishing is our favorite way to spend these last few weeks before fall really starts to set in.  Both Montana Creek and Cowee Creek are great spots to target late char and trout in the creeks.  Beads will continue to work up in the upper reaches of these systems and leeches/streamers can be productive when fishing deep pools and structure.  This time of year is also when you should consider fishing the still water.  As Dollies and cutt-throat trout make their way to their overwintering locations Windfall Lake, the Salt Chuck, and the Dredge Lakes complex can all produce some gorgeous fall fish.  In the lakes try using black or olive leech patterns such as Scupzillas, Mini Dolly Llamas, Tungsten Thin Mint Buggers and Al Green/Willie Nelsons.  We like to use a 10ft Airflo Poly leader in fast sink to help get the flies down to the bigger fish.  Long, slow strips are the ticket here.

Next generation of fly fishers! He may be young, but he will out fish you.

We hope everyone had a great season of fly fishing and we want to thank you all for your support!  As we move into a slightly more normal year we are looking forward to once again offering tying nights at the shop, partnering with Trout Unlimited on Bar Flies, and generally getting back to fun fly-fishing community events. To kick things off, on October 7th is the return of the Fly-Fishing Film Tour!  After several years of not being able to make this happen, we are excited to have it back for a fun filled evening.  Tickets are available at the shop or at the door.  Keep checking in on either our Facebook or Instagram pages as these two platforms will be how we spread the word on upcoming events.  We hope to see everyone throughout the winter months, and we are already looking forward to next spring.  Cheers everyone! 

Cory, Brad, Mike, and the rest of the crew at AFFG

*We love using our customers' photos in our future fishing reports, but we really want to encourage ethical treatment of fish.  When practicing catch and release do your best to handle the fish minimally and get pictures with the fish in the water!  With live fish, please avoid placing your fingers in gills, setting fish on dry ground, or holding them way above water with your dry hands.  Remember this resource is only sustainable if we all help do our part. Submit your photos to cory@alaskaflyfishinggoods.com or tag us on Instagram (@alaskaflyfishinggoods)